Railway-track weed-cutter.



G. S. WEBSTER. RAILWAY TRACK wEED CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. II. I9I6. E L. Patented sept. 4,1917.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

In 1L G. S. WEBSTER.

RAILWAY TRACK WEED CUTTER.

a SHEETS-SHEET z.

v g. fgyf @y M01/a Patented Sept. 4, 1917.

` APPLICATION F|LE FEB. Hl |916. 1323,55

` .GEORGE s.` WEBSTER, or MASON CITY, IOWA.

nAiLWAYfTRACK Wann-CUTTER; y

, `Spetication of Letters Patent.

Patented sept. a, mir.

Aplilicaton. filed February 11, 1916. Serial No. 7 7,608.

To all whom t may-concern: i `Be it known'that I, GEORGE WEBSTER, acitizen of theUnited States, residing at Mason City, in the county of Cerro Gordo and'State of Iowa,` have invented certain new andv useful Improvements in Railway- Track Weed-Cutters; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear,` and exact description of the invention,vv such as will enable `others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide a simple and highly eflcient `railway track weed cutter anddestroyer; and to rsuch ends, generally stated, the invention consists of the novel 'devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and defined in theclai'ms.' A"

It is a well known fact that weeds grow-` ing close to the rails of a railway track will get upon the y rails and when crushed by passing trains, will make the track slippery, so-that itis often diflicult for the engine to pull its load.' 4My invention provides a device which will rapidly cut and `destroy weeds thatv grow alongthe track, to-wit, be tween the rails `and for some distance outside of therrails. -The invention utilizes heavy rotary brushes equipped with strong spring teeth preferably made of what' is known as flat steel brushl wireabout onesixteenth to one-fourth` of an'inch in cross section. When thesebrushes are rotated in contact with the ground, they will cut olf the weeds, grass, and like vegetable growth,

and will uproot most thereof, thus destroying the same. When such a brush is mounted on a motor-propelled car and is motor driven, it will destroy weeds and like growth along the track very rapidly, and at very small cost per mile.

In the accompanying drawings` which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the preferred form of my weed cutter, some parts being diagrammatically indicated by dotted lines only;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, some parts being indicated by dotted lines only " of the character above d Figp is a section taken approximately on the `line ma w3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating a modied arrangement of the brushes.

The numeral 1 indicates the body of a car or truck which is mounted on wheels 2 and carries a motor, as shown, in the form of an explosive engine. This truck may be driven from the motor or it may `be hitched to an engine. As shown, the motor is used only to drive the brushes.

\ In the I employ three cylindrical brushes, to-wit, an intermediate brush 4l and two outside brushes 5, all mounted on a common transverse shaft 6 which, at its ends, is journaled inthe sides of a heavy bail-like supporting frame 7 that is pivotally connectedto the sides of the truck frame 1, as shown, by a transversevshaft 8 `arranged to run in suitable bearings in the lsidesof the truck frame 1, and is held against lateral spreading movements by cooperating pairs of washers 9. Theframe loperates as a lever and the rear ends of the sides thereof, are connected by a transverse bar 10 that is 'engaged by the rearwardly projected arms 11 of a large lever 12 that -is pivoted onthe intermediate portion ofthe shaft S and has a ratchet 13 forlocking it in different positions to a lock segment 14, on the platform of the truck'l. The teethof the'brushes 4 and 5 are indicated by the numeral 15 and are preferably p escribed. F iXed to the brush shaft 6 in the space between the brushes 4 and 5 are sprockets 16. Sprocket chains 17 run over the sprockets 16 and over sprockets 18 on the counter shaft 19 that is journaled in bearings 20 on the sides of the lever frame 7.

The crank shaft of the engine 3 carries a sprocket 21. A sprocket chain Q2 runs over the sprocket 21 and over a sprocket 23 that is loosely journaled on the pivot shaft 8 and works in an opening in the platform of the truck frame 1. A similar sprocket 24 has its hub secured to the hub of the sprocket 23 and rotates therewith. A sprocketchain 25 runs over the sprocket 24 and over a sprocket 26 that is loosely journaled on the counter shaft 19, but may be held against rotating movements thereon. The hub` of this sprocket 26 carries a halfvclutch 27 that is engageable 'with a half clutch 28 keyed to rotate with but mounted to slide onthe counter shaft 19.

The sliding half clutch 28 has loose collar,-

29 fastened to a head 30 that is mounted for vertical sliding movements on a shipper lever Y 3l, the lower end of which is pivo-ted to a bearing 32 on the truck platform. V

With the construction above described, it is evident that the brushes may be raised out of action and lowered into action, at will, by

manipulation of the lever 12, and it is also Thek space betweenthe teeth of the brushes 4 and 5, it will be understood, will bejust sufficient to afford a `properclearance of the track rails y. When the brushes are rotated in contact with the roadbed, they will, as indicated, cut the weeds, grass, and the like. There is, however, sufficient flexibility in the teeth of the brushes to prevent the same from being broken by engagement with projecting portions of the ties, or with rocks or like ob'- struetions in the roadbed. 4 y

The cylindrical arrangement of the brushes described is preferred, but it might be possible in some cases tosuccessfully use brushes arranged to rotate on vertical axes, as shown in Fig. 4, wherein the intermediate brush is indicated at `4 and the outside brushes are indicated at 5a. Y

l/,Vhat I claim is: f

l. A railway track weed cutter comprising a truck, a vertically` adjustable brush supporting frame 'carried by said truck, a brushy shaft carried by,v said frame, cylindrical spring-toothed brushes secured to said shaft,

Working, one between said rails and the other outside of the rail and adapted to clear the rails, a motor onsaid truck, a driving element on said brush shaft between said inside and outside brushes, and driving connections rails and spaced to clear the rails, sprockets secured to said brush shaft in the spaces be-V tween said brushes, a motor, and driving connections between said motor and brush shaft, including sprocket chainsrunning over said sprockets.

a truck, a vertically, V,adjustable brush sup-` mounted on said Avertically,adjustable frame,

a sprocket on said counter shaft, a sprocket chain running over thesaid .two 'noted sprockets, a motor on said truck andv connections between said motor and counter shaft including a clutch.

In testimony whereof l af'x signature l in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE SWEBSTER i Witnesses: p p a A. CASEY, t J. A. SWEET, p

ones'of lthis patent may y.be 'obtained for 4im. ycents each, by addressing the vfCommiaaioner of ilatente,y i Washington,` D. 0. Y

. 2 i 65 3. A `railway track weed cuttercoinpr-ising 

